Community Vegetable Gardens in Teresina: connected lives in urban environments

Soares, Tiago Luís da Silva; Mazzarino, Jane Márcia

doi:10.1590/1809-4422asoc20220172vu2023L4OA

Brasil

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Original Article • Ambient. soc. 26 • 2023 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1809-4422asoc20220172vu2023L4OA linkcopy

Community Vegetable Gardens in Teresina: connected lives in urban environments

Huertos comunitarios en Teresina: vidas conectadas en ambientes urbanos

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

Thinking of urban gardens as an alternative for socio-environmental development in large cities leads to questioning which aspects of people’s lives are most significantly affected by activities in urban vegetable gardens in Teresina/Piauí. The objective of the article is to analyze how the social institutional, economic, and productive aspects are dynamized in the experiences of the gardeners inserted in the Community Gardens Project in Teresina. The research is exploratory and qualitative, based on a bibliographical, documental, and field study. 12 vegetable gardeners were interviewed in depth. Data treatment was based on textual analysis. As some of the results, it was evident that the gardens favor social ties and the expansion of income, as well as entrepreneurship, but even with the support of the city hall, there is a need for greater access to equipment and infrastructure elements, such as water and toilets, as well as training.

Keywords: Vegetable gardens; Community; Gardeners; Change

Categories/Aspects	Elements
Social	Relationships in the gardens Collective work
Institutional	Land division Capacity building Relationship with the municipality Organic production
Economic	Commercialization Financing Income
Productive	Crops produced Purchase of equipment Management Water system Soil treatment

Name	Horta to which it belongs	Age	Marital status
R	Promote	62	Married
J	Promote	65	Married
L	Promote	63	Married
M	Promote	53	Married
C.	Itararé	74	Married
MA	Itararé	61	Married
Jo	Itararé	58	Married
Ja	Itararé	38	Married
MH	Tablet	70	Married
F	Tablet	67	Single
MJ	Tablet	45	Married
A	Tablet	73	Married

Categories/Aspects	Elements boosted by the gardens
Social	Relationships in the gardens: meetings to find collective solutions (infrastructure, irrigation); favors bonds of friendship; generates good coexistence; conflicts due to informal sale of plots / beds; ceding of garden spaces for private use; existence of thefts. Collective work: joint efforts to clear the garden paths; in with gardeners in difficulty; “vaquinha” to repair machinery and equipment.
Institutional	Division of land: gardens installed on vacant or idle land, under power lines; selection of gardeners by registration, aptitude and interest; informal and irregular transfer of plots/ beds between gardeners; lack of plots/ beds for producers limits income, while there are abandoned and unproductive plots/ beds that are not given to producers who are interested. Training: despite the interest in training, the courses promoted by the Municipality are sporadic and insufficient, not serving all gardeners; some in partnership with the federal government, management courses, production techniques, especially organic. Relationship with the Municipality: marked by conflicts and contradictions: lack of support for maintenance, infrastructure, security, sanitation, transportation; on the other hand, they recognize support for irrigation and electricity; municipality subsidizes 100% of electricity. Organic production: Municipality subsidizes organic compost from pruning, but there are complaints about its quality and mixtures; provides transport for those who use manure in production.
Economic	Commercialization: sale in the garden or at fairs, directly to the consumer; sales at fairs promoted by the city hall; sale to government food acquisition programs; dissatisfaction with amounts paid. Financing: small bank loans backed by the state agricultural agency; funds from the municipal treasury; loans through the Popular Bank of the Municipality; misuse of funds. Income: from half to two minimum wages; for a large part of the gardeners, it is the main source of income, others use the earnings as a supplement to income, for subsistence or to ascend economically; working in the community garden has improved family economic power; joining government programs increases income; those who have more area for production have increased income, which is limited by the beds available for each gardener.
Productive	Crops produced: seeds are offered by the Municipality and purchased by the gardeners; they produce spring onions, coriander, cabbage, lettuce, beet, tomatoes, carrots, medicinal plants (mastruz, mallow, lemon balm, holy grass, etc.). Purchase of equipment: the supply of equipment by the Municipality is insufficient, requiring purchase by gardeners; equipment that could assist gardeners is stored in Municipality spaces.
Productive	Management: caterpillars, ants, and aphids are usually treated with insecticides sold in the market; weeds are controlled through manual weeding; few gardeners have undergone training for organic production; Banco do Nordeste promoted a course to combat pests with natural insecticides; they use Nim for caterpillars and green onions for aphids, as well as soap powder with bleach and lemon for locusts. Water system: City Hall drills wells and provides sprinklers, drip hoses; in some gardens, irrigation is manual, which demonstrates unequal access between gardens; electrical maintenance problems for irrigation are often solved with resources from the gardeners; pumps are missing, which could improve access to water in order to meet the demands of the gardeners’ productions. Soil treatment: use coconut straw, animal manure, compost from prunings, chemical fertilizer.

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[TFN1] Source: From the authors, 2021.